Good sourcing is the key to success. Whether you’re selling on eBay, selling on Amazon, selling online or offline, being able to buy the right product at the right price makes all the difference.
Here are my hard won top 6 product sourcing secrets
1. You make most of your money when you buy, not when you sell. In other words, the price you buy at is much more important than the price you sell at.
Here’s how this secret works in practice:
Find out what selling price would enable you to sell the product easily. Next decide what profit margin you need. Deduct your profit margin from your selling price to find your maximum buying in price. It’s a much more successful sourcing technique than taking the buying price and adding a margin.
2. Wholesalers are the probably the easiest and most convenient supply of almost anything.
But a few words of caution: They are by definition ‘middle men’ so they aren’t always the cheapest.
Tip. Make sure they are genuine wholesalers – and beware of retailers who claim to offer ‘trade prices to the public’ and so on just to look cheap.
3. Go direct to the manufacturer if you can; as they’re the ultimate source of the product they are always the cheapest. The only drawback is that you might have to order large quantities to get the best prices from them.
Tip. Look for little-known trade counters and genuine factory shops. Also look for small manufacturers who are able to make whatever you need to order.
4. Always consider importing as a source.
In today’s global economy lots of manufactured products are made abroad, particularly in low cost countries such as China. Thanks to the Internet it’s easier and cheaper than ever before to import directly from manufacturers abroad too.
An easy way to get started in import is to find product sources using an import directory site – AliExpress at www.aliexpress – is a good place to start for example.
5. Could you source your product at an auction?
Auctions are frequently the cheapest-ever source of stock for a small business. Because goods get sold at the price buyers are willing to buy, not at the price sellers would like to sell at. An increasing number of auctions nowadays operate online, so you don’t even have to attend the auction to bid in person to get bargains this way.
Tip. Look for bankrupt stock auctions, surplus stock auctions and government auctions for really rock bottom prices.
Here’s a handy article on how to buy successfully at auction. [LINK: To article below!]
6. Lastly, this is probably my most important product sourcing secret ever! Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate.
When you’re buying trade there’s no such thing as a fixed price. So never take the list price as the last word.
It never hurts to ask for a discount, in fact many trade sellers expect you to. And that extra discount you secure by negotiation could make the difference between a modest profit and a big profit!
For more expert secret sourcing techniques plus extensive listings of wholesalers, import sources, manufacturers, auctions and many more sources What Biz Opp recommends the